UC Merced to launch medical school in 2023

Governor Gavin Newsom and lawmakers visited the site of the future medical education program on the UC Merced campus on Monday. In his remarks, he emphasized the importance of having a medical campus in the Central Valley, which has some of the worst health outcomes in the state yet has fewer physicians compared to other regions. There are 157 doctors for every 100,000 residents in the Central Valley, while the Bay Area has 411 for every 100,000, according to a press release from the Office of the Governor. Statewide, there are 157 primary care physicians for every 100,000 people, while in the Central Valley there are less than 45 for every 100,000.

“Postal codes shouldn’t be a pre-existing condition,” Newsom said. “UC Merced’s school of medicine will be the first of its kind for the community, providing local students with opportunities to learn closer to home and serve the communities they grew up in, while also working to address the most persistent health challenges facing the Central Valley with your head held high.”

The medical school will have the capacity to graduate 200 graduate students, with the first class of 50 on track to enroll in 2023.